


Rise Again

by BatPanic



Category: Gerwnt - Fandom, Women's Soccer RPF
Genre: F/F, gerwnt
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-19
Updated: 2018-04-19
Packaged: 2019-04-25 03:06:57
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 7
Words: 13,829
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14369565
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BatPanic/pseuds/BatPanic
Summary: gerwnt coffee shop/superhero auBabett Peter owns a small coffee shop in Potsdam, where she meets Turbine player Bianca Schmidt. Bianca is instantly smitten, but Babs harbours a dark secret.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Sorry for any typos and if things are worded awkwardly, this started life as a joke fic for a friend.

Babett Peter shook the freshly fallen snow out of her hair as she fumbled in her pocket for her keys. She finally grasped the cold metal in her gloved hands and unlocked the door to her little coffee shop, kicking the snow off her boots as she stepped inside. Babs headed immediately for the thermostat, which she cranked up high. 5:30am in a German January is not fun experience. She wiped the beanie from her head and shook the snow off, and peeled off her thick duffle coat and shook that out too. She hung them on the coat hook by the door before drying her glasses on the hem of her red plaid shirt and headed behind the counter to get the first pot of coffee brewing.

"I sucked so bad in training today," Bianca Schmidt huffed as she strode across the pavement in just her training gear and a snood. Her close friend and teammate Tabea Kemme followed behind her more gingerly, trying not to slip on the thick slush covering the ground.  
"You weren't that bad, Schmiddi!"  
"Tabbi please, the highlight of that training session for me was when I attempted to clear the ball and it hit my face and ricocheted into my own net."  
Tabea tried to stifle a giggle before replying.  
"Hey that was good for team morale. I've never seen Almuth laugh so hard, especially not after conceding. Anyway I can't believe you didn't bring a coat, you'll catch your death." Tabea pulled her DFB FRAUEN fleece tighter around her torso.  
"No, I sucked so hard I don't deserve a coat," Bianca moaned, more to herself than Tabea.  
Tabea braved the conditions and skipped in line with her friend, linking their arms.  
"Come on, we'll get some lunch and you'll feel better. I've heard of this great little coffee shop cafe type thing just round the corner."

Babs had been on her feet serving for 6 hours. She'd already lost the will to live and it was only dinnertime. It took the last dregs of her self control not to smash her coffee pot over the head of the last customer who thought it was appropriate to address her as "Oi. Coffee." Instead, she smiled sweetly, walked over to his table near the door where he had set up his laptop to write a shitty screenplay, and filled up his mug. As she turned around to return to the counter, Babs was too busy fantasising about all the "tax" she was going to add to douche-face's bill to realise that the door to her shop had been opened and a customer had stepped inside. The two collided and large wave of dark brown coffee splashed out of Babs' coffee pot and exploded across the tile floor.  
"Geshitten!" Bianca exclaimed, "I'm so sorry I wasn't looking where I was going!"  
Babs was too engrossed in Bianca's dark brown eyes to realise that Bianca's arms were holding her safely around her waist, whilst her free hand was on Bianca's shoulder to steady herself. They looked like they're doing a crappy waltz.  
"You didn't get any coffee on you, did you?" Bianca asked, concern etched on her face. Babs giggled shyly.  
"No I'm fine thank you, go sit down, I'll clean this up and bring you some fresh coffee!" and with that, she scooted quickly away and into the kitchen, watched the whole time by an enthralled Bianca. When she lost sight of Babs, Bianca turned to Tabea and sarcastically said  
"Now I'm assaulting women in coffee shops, I'm doing really well today."

Bianca plonked down in the booth with a thud and let out a sigh. Tabea sat down opposite her with a smirk.  
"What's that smirk for?" Bianca asked, genuinely puzzled.  
"The way you held that woman was the most romantic thing I've ever seen. I could almost hear Beauty and the Beast playing in the background."  
"Are you calling me Beauty or The Beast because either way I like you as a friend."  
Tabea gave a sarcastic smile, but before she can give a sarcastic reply, Babs approached the table. She dug in the pocket of her apron for a second and pulled out a small notebook and pencil, before flashing a smile at the pair and asking  
"So what can I get you?"  
"I'll have a coffee and a bacon sandwich please," asked Tabea, to which Babs quickly scribbled on her notepad. She turned to look down at Bianca.  
"And for you sweetie?"  
Bianca took a second to compose herself and replied;  
"Erm..okay..er I'll have erm something you think I'd like. The chef's specialty."  
Tabea let out a snort of laughter and was rewarded with a swift kick under the table. Babs was both amused and taken aback at the strange request, but nodded anyway and retreated into the kitchen with a smile. As soon as she was gone, Tabea turned to look at Bianca with a huge grin.  
"Don't even fucking start."  
"Schmiddi what the FUCK was that?"  
"You made me feel all weird saying I was being romantic with that lady and I was trying my hardest not to flirt any more."  
"Well somehow you managed to flirt EVEN MORE!"  
"Tabbi please..."  
"Like you just flirted SO HARD!"  
"Tabea..."  
"Hang on I need to call the Guinness Book of World Records and ask what the record is for the most flirting that's ever happened because YOU'VE JUST BROKEN IT!"  
Bianca stuck her elbows on the table and placed her head in her hands to hide the blush that was creeping across her cheeks. When she was quite sure her face had returned to it's regular skin tone, she sat back up in time to see Babs setting down a sandwich in front of Tabea and a steaming bacon and cheese panini in front of her. Bianca mumbled out a thanks whilst pretending to scratch her forehead to hide the redness threatened to spread across her face again. Bianca relaxed again when Babs walked away.  
"Shut up" she said to Tabea before she could even open her mouth.

When she'd finished her panini, Bianca wiped her face with a napkin and threw it down onto her plate.  
"That was gorgeous."  
"The panini or the waitress?" replied Tabea who received another kick under the table for her trouble.  
"Fuck Schmiddi, next time we go out remind me to keep my shinpads on."  
Tabea turned her body to get Babs' attention from behind the counter.  
"Bill please!" she called, and Babs gave her a thumbs up and turned to the till. She brought over the receipt on a small plate with two mints for Tabea and Bianca. Tabea grabbed the receipt and suddenly cracked into a wide grin again. Bianca let out another huff.  
"What is it now Tabbi?"  
"Don't worry about it Schmiddi, I'll pay for this and I'll meet you outside," and she's gone before Bianca can ask anything else.  
Outside, Bianca rubbed her hands together and put them to her mouth to breathe warm air into them. Her breath escaped through the gaps between her fingers and billowed into the air like smoke. She started to wish she had brought a coat after all. Tabea exited the cafe and walked in the opposite direction, back towards the hotel where the German team were staying. She was practically skipping again and she didn't even acknowledge Bianca, who had to jog to catch up with her.  
"What's up with you Tabbi?"  
Tabea looked across at her friend and smiled broadly.  
"Nothing." Tabea pulled the receipt from the cafe out of her pocket and grinned down fondly at it.  
"What's so funny about that receipt Tabs?" Bianca demanded, knowing something is very obviously up.  
"Don't worry about it. You said you weren't flirting with that waitress, didn't you?"  
"Fuck no," Bianca scoffed as convincingly as she could. Tabbi flashed a shit eating grin at her.  
"Then you won't care that she wrote her phone number on this receipt."


	2. Chapter 2

Tabbi strode through the door of the lounge still wearing her shit eating grin.  
“Fine Tabbi, you win, I was flirting! Now give me that receipt!”  
Tabbi smirked at Bianca and held up the receipt with two fingers. Bianca snatched it, but when she looked at it, her face fell.  
“What the fuck? She didn't write her phone number on this!”   
“Bianca Schmidt, you I just played you like a cheap fiddle.” Bianca started forward to grab Tabbi, who ducked out of the way and dove to safety behind their captain Saskia Bartusiak, who approached with a coffee cup.  
“What's up with you two?” the seasoned defender asked.  
“Bianca met her wife at the coffee shop we were just in,” Tabbi sang gleefully behind Saskia, eliciting a chorus of whoops from the rest of the team relaxing on the various settees.  
“Which coffee shop?” asked Dzsenifer Marozsan, who put her phone back in her pocket and sat up, eager to help Tabbi shit stir.   
“I took her to The Haven on Blitzkrieg Avenue,” replied Tabbi. The goalkeeper Almuth Schult's face turned from a wide grin into a stony expression. “The Haven?” she repeated. Tabbi turned towards her friend and furrowed her brow when she saw the grievous expression. “Yeah? What's wrong?”  
Almuth gots up from the settee, unfurling her entire 6 foot frame to its full extension.   
“There's a reason that place is hidden away on the backstreets.” The entire team looked at her in confusion as she continued: “it's full of people you shouldn't be socialising with.”  
“It's a coffee shop, not a fucking crack den Almi,”  Bianca stated, but Almuth's expression stayed grim and she turned slowly and left the room.

Bianca laid awake that night. Her roomate Lena was snoring softly across the room, so Bianca didn't feel too bad at all the tossing and turning she was doing. She couldn't stop thinking about the woman in the coffee shop. And she couldn't stop thinking about what Almuth said. The more Bianca thought about the owner, the more confused she got, she couldn't fathom that a woman so sweet would run an establishment that would be so shady anyway. She sighed heavily and looked across at the alarm clock. 4.45am. She threw back the covers and got out of bed, pulled on last night's clothes and slowly clicked the door shut behind her.

The snow crunched underfoot as Bianca strolled through the back streets of Potsdam, illuminated by the first rays of the sun beginning to peek over the horizon. When she saw the shop she's only entered once, she felt a strange sense of safety deep in her chest. As she approached the shop, the door suddenly swung open and Almuth almost knocked her to the ground in her haste.   
“Almuth? I thought you didn't like this place?” Bianca asked quizzically. Almuth huffed and pulled the collar of her coat up.  
“I took a wrong turn.” Bianca had no time for more questions as Almuth took off at an inhuman walking pace. Bianca made a mental note to talk to her later, and she turned back to the shop and gently pushed open the door. Babs was wiping down the counter, seemingly lost in thought. She didn't even look up when the bell above the door signalled a customer, only looking up when Bianca approached her in the deserted cafe. When Babs looked up from the behind the counter, she developed a genuine smile.  
“You again.”  
“Me again,” Bianca returned the smile, “I'm Bianca.”   
She stretched her hand out across the counter and Babs took it gently.  
“Babett, but my regulars call me Babs.”   
Bianca sat down on a stool at the counter.  
“What would you like?” Babs asked as Bianca unzipped her coat and peeled it off.   
“Just a coffee please.”   
When Babs was turned around working the coffee machine, Bianca piped up again.  
“That really tall woman who was in before me, do you know her?”   
Babs kept her back towards Bianca.  
“Almuth? We're...old friends.” Babs turned around and placed a steaming mug in front of Bianca, who gratefully wrapped both her hands around it to remove the chill from the early winter morning.  She looked around at the empty place.  
“Are you the only one who works here?” Bianca asked, trying to keep the conversation going. Babs nodded.  
“Just me.”  
“You're open 4 until 4, is it not a lot of work?”  
“Not to get too personal, but work is all I really have nowadays.”  
“Oh, sorry,” Bianca looked down into her cup. When she looked back up, Babs was giving her a reassuring smile.   
“Anyway, it's not so bad when I have people to keep me company.”   
And so Bianca stayed and kept her company.

When Bianca returned to the hotel in the early evening, Tabbi was the first to make scene.  
“PLEASE tell me you didn't spend your ENTIRE day off drooling at that coffee shop?” Bianca purposefully ignored her and walked towards the snack table.  
“How are you this whipped already?” Maro shouted from next to Tabbi.  
“She's cute alright?” Bianca said, taking a bite from her apple, “anyway, you guys seen Almi?”  
“She's in the gym,” Saskia replied, not looking up from her newspaper. Bianca patted her shoulder gratefully as she passed her. 

Down in the gym, Bianca found Almuth lifting weights and approached her.  
“What's up Schmiddi?” Almuth asked, not slowing down and not breaking eye contact with herself in the mirror.  
“I thought we could talk about this morning?”  
Almuth didn't reply.  
“What were you doing there?”  
“I was lost.”  
“Really? Because Babs said you two were old friends.”  
Almuth slammed the weights back down in the rack.  
“Babett is no friend of mine,” she growled without looking at Schmiddi. She grabbed her towel and headed towards the pool, Bianca knowing better than to follow her.

Bianca huffed down on the sofa next to Saskia, who was still reading the paper.   
“What's wrong kiddo?” she asked, still not looking up.  
“The owner of the coffee says her and Almuth are old friends and Almuth steadfastly refuses that they know each other, even though I saw Almuth leaving the coffee shop this morning.”  
“Almuth is an enigma and I don't know if we'll ever truly understand her. Don't take it personally.”  
Bianca let her head drop onto Saskia's shoulder.  
“Thanks.”  
Saskia just nods.

Bianca visited the coffee shop everyday for the next week, in every spare moment she had between training sessions. Her Germany teammates leave the camp ends, and all that are left are her club teammates; Almuth, Simon, Maro and Tabbi. Bianca pushed Almuth out of her mind whilst she was in the little cafe and just let herself enjoy Babs' company and Babs always looked glad to see her.  At Potsdam training, she didn't mention the coffee shop and her and Almuth’s friendship slowly returned to normal.

On the next Friday evening, Bianca sat at the counter as usual with her coffee. Babs was cleaning before she locked up for the night. She placed the leftovers of the day in front of Bianca for her to finish off, and Bianca accepted them gratefully.  
“Any plans for the night Babs?” she asked through a mouthful of pork pie.  
“Hmm let me think,” Babs replied theatrically as she removed parts from the coffee machine to wipe, “I'll probably order some Chinese and fall asleep in front of the TV as usual.”   
“Well I'm not doing anything either, maybe we could have dinner?”  
Babs turned to her with a smile as she wiped the tiny washer in her hands.  
“Really?”  
“Well I've spent my entire day off with you, why stop now?” replied Bianca, as she popped the last of the cherry bakewell in her mouth. Babs giggled and looked down at her feet.  
“That would be nice.”

After dinner, Babs invited Bianca upstairs for a drink. Babs turned on a late night film and Bianca slipped an arm around her shoulder and pulled Babs into her side. An hour later, Babs had finished her glass of wine. She ran a hand up Bianca's stomach and up her chest, simultaneously lifting her head towards Bianca's face. She found Bianca asleep. She smiled softly and pressed a soft kiss to Bianca's shoulder and settled back down, thinking about how nice was is when there was two of you falling asleep in front of the TV.

“I can't believe you just let me sleep on the sofa all night, my neck is killing me,” Bianca whined, trying to stretch out her back as Babs put a fresh cup of coffee on the counter in front of her, before going to unlock the door of the shop.  
“You looked so sweet, I didn't have the heart to wake you up.”   
Bianca yawned and slurped the coffee as Babs returned behind the counter to place some bacon on the grill. Suddenly, the door slammed open, startling Schmiddi, who nearly spat her mouthful out onto the cold marble counter.  
“Babs I-...oh, Schmiddi. I didn't know you'd be here.”  
Bianca turned around to see Almuth, and they both looked at each other, dumbstruck.  
Babs re-emerged from the kitchen, drying her hand on her apron.  
“Ah, the runt of the Amazons, what can I do for you?”  
“Don't call me that,” Almuth whispered, glaring at Babs, “I didn't know you were getting pally with my teammates either.”  
“I still can't believe you play football, you have an unfair advantage don't you think?”  
“Babs shhh, she isnt-” Almuth started, gesturing at Bianca with her eyes.  
“I'm not what?” Bianca said, turning to Almuth.  
“She isn't?” Babs replied, eyes wide.  
“No,” Almuth shook her head.  
“I thought she was, that's why she came here.”  
“She isn't.”  
“I'm not WHAT?” Bianca repeated, more annoyed.  
“Doesn't matter Schmiddi. Come on, we'll be late for training,” and with that, Almuth grabbed Bianca and practically dragged her outside. Almuth ignored all of Schmiddi’s questions as they walked towards the training ground. They were separated as usual in training as Almuth trained with the other goalies and Bianca trained with the outfield players, but it ate at away at her bones all day until she couldn't take it anymore and Bianca cornered Almuth in the dining hall.  
“Almuth please, just fucking tell me.”  
Almuth, seeing how agitated her teammate was, just put her hand on Bianca’s shoulder.  
“Babs will tell you when she's ready.”


	3. Chapter 3

Bianca was distracted for the rest of the day. She sliced shots, ran into the goalpost twice and mistimed a challenge on Maro so badly that Maro had to lay on the floor for several minutes to compose herself.   
"Fück Maro, I'm so sorry!" Bianca said panickedly, kneeling down to rub her friend's stomach.  
"It's okay" Maro squeaked out, muffled since she had her face pressed into the grass. The coach decided that it was time to call it a day before Bianca seriously injured someone. Bianca showered and packed up in record time, heading straight downtown to see Babs. She knew Babs will already have locked up the shop, so she headed straight to Babs' apartment building. The quickly fading light made her speed up even more and she found herself power walking through the streets. As she approached Babs' building though, she's stopped in her tracks. 100 metres down the street, even in the darkness, she could clearly see Babs leaving her apartment building and head down the little set of steps to greet a figure who was sat on the fence looking down at her phone. As Babs greeted the figure, they stood up and turned to Babs, illuminating their face in the streetlight.  
"Almuth?" Bianca whispered to no one in particular. How did Almuth get here so quick? Bianca was sure Almuth was still in the changing room when she had left. But the woman was unmistakably Almuth. She wrapped one arm around Babs and pulled her into a side hug before they both made their way down the street, away from Bianca.  
" 'We're not friends' my fucking arse," Bianca spat, before turning on her heel and she made her way back the way she came, back towards her apartment.

Bianca ignored Almuth at training the next day. She also ignored Babs' calls, texts, Skype calls, anything really that Babs tried to contact her on. 

Babs sighed and slowly slipped her phone back into the pocket of her apron. She hadn't heard from Bianca for the past week and she didn't know why. Maybe she just...stopped liking her? It wouldn't be the first time.  
"Oi, coffee," Babs heard from a customer behind her. She growled softly and closed her eyes. When she opened them, they'd turned bright yellow and her pupils had turned into vertical slits. She squeezed her eyes shut and shook her head. When she opened them again, they've returned to their normal blue-green circular shape. She plastered the fakest smile she could muster onto her face and went about her business. 

"How's coffee shop girl?" Tabbi asked, plonking down next to her best friend in the player's lounge.  
"I wouldn't know, haven't seen her for a week," Bianca huffed.  
"ERM excuse me?" Tabbi replied, flinging herself forward to look at Bianca's face, but Bianca didn't make eye contact.  
"Why on earth would you not see the only woman who has ever been interested in you ever?" Tabbi continued and Bianca shot her a look that told her that now wasn't the time for jokes. Bianca sighed and told Tabbi about what she saw with Babs and Almuth. Tabbi furrowed her brow sympathetically.  
"Okay, that does sound pretty bad, but there might still be an innocent explanation. Cheating is shitty but it's also shitty to just ignore an innocent person until they leave. You need to talk to her."   
Bianca sighed again and rubbed the bridge of her nose with one hand.   
"I hate it when you're right Kemme."

The bell above the door rang to signal that a customer had arrived. Babs looked at the clock. 3.57pm. She sighed and her shoulders dropped, she was almost done for the day. She pasted on a smile and turned around, her smile immediately vanishing again.  
"Oh, so you are alive?" she spits sarcastically, her icy blue eyes cutting through Schmiddi, who stood in the middle of the cafe with her hands thrust deep into the pockets of her coat for warmth. Bianca looked up at Babs from her bowed head, knowing that whatever it is that's going on, she hasn't handled it very well.   
"Well, are you going to tell me what you've reappeared from the void for?" Babs demanded, crossing her arms.  
"I...I saw you with Almuth last Monday night."  
"So what? I told you we're friends. We were spending time together."  
"Really? Because Almuth swears blind you aren't friends. Just tell me, are you seeing her behind my back?"   
Babs exhaled, exasperated. She unfolded her arms and placed both of her palms flat against the counter top. She locked her elbows and dropped her head below her shoulders, still looking at Bianca.  
"How dare you, Bianca Schmidt. You disappear for a week, ignore all my messages, and the next time I see you it's when you turn up at my shop and accuse me of cheating!" As soon as she hit the word 'cheating', her eyes flashed yellow and her pupils lengthen again. She quickly realised and squeezed them shut tight, using her right hand to cover them, and she turned away, but she wasn't quick enough and Bianca saw the change.  
"Woah!" Bianca started, stumbling backwards a few steps from the shock, "What is tha-?"  
"It's a medical condition," Babs cut her off, covering her eyes in the crook of her elbow.  
"Are you oka-?"  
"Just get out," Babs demanded, still covering her eyes. She threw her towel behind her at Schmiddi before she rushed clumsily into the kitchen and out of sight. Stunned, Bianca did as she was told and slowly let herself out of the cafe. Bianca stepped outside the cafe and the cold hits her almost as hard as Babs' words.  
"get out."  
'I've well and truly fucked it up this time,' Bianca thought to herself. She sighex heavily and squeezed her eyes shut, feeling the first warning signs of a migraine. She massaged her temples as she trudged sadly back to her apartment.

The pain was worse by the time Bianca got home. She took two painkillers and headed straight to bed.

The pain woke her up before her alarm clock went. Schmiddi took two more painkillers and got dressed.

The pain burned behind Bianca's eyes as she pounded the treadmill. She had to ask her teammates if she could turn the lights out in the gym.

Bianca couldn't get comfortable on the sofa in the break room. She fidgeted restlessly, barely even opening her eyes, desperately trying to relieve the pain even the tiniest amount. In frustration, she kicked out at the coffee table, almost sending Tabbi's drink flying.  
"That's it," Tabbi said, after making sure her drink was fine, "I'm taking you to the hospital."  
"No," Bianca protested, "it's just a bad migraine, I need to go back to sleep."  
"Fine, go nap in the kit room and if it's not gone in an hour, then I'm taking you to the hospital."  
Schmiddi did as she was told and headed to the kit room, weaving slightly as Tabbi looked on, worried. 

Bianca just about made it to the kit room. It was cooler than the rest if the building but it did nothing to ease the pain. Her head was pounding, she'd never felt pain like it. She flicked off the lights and tried to make a nest out of the kit on the bench, but suddenly she was overcome as the pain intensified tenfold. Bianca writhed on the floor, holding her head. Her vision went black and her hearing faded out, until she couldn't even hear herself screaming. All she could feel is white-hot pain, as if all her senses were being slowly turned off. Eventually, when she'd been cut off from the mortal world, she heard a voice. Not so much 'heard', more like 'felt' the voice. The voice was everything. The voice engulfed. A voice that she felt in her soul. 

Bring me Panther and the last Amazon.

A white light appeared in the centre of Bianca's vision and slowly started getting bigger. A ringing started in her ears that slowly faded out to reveal a muffled voice. A real voice. A real, female voice.

"Jesus, Schmiddi, come back to me!" 

Bianca opened her eyes slightly to find herself being cradled by Almuth, who looked very distressed. 

"Thank God Schmiddi."

"What happened?" Bianca gurgled out as Almuth pulled her closer to her chest.

"I was heading back to the gym when I heard you screaming and walked in to see you convulsing on the floor. I thought you were dying."

"I felt like it," Bianca replied, sitting herself up. The pain had finally gone. Almuth knelt next to her, concern etched on her face. "I thought I was having a stroke. All I could hear was something about a panther and 'The Last Amazon'. Crazy, huh?" she smiled up at Almuth, trying to lighten the mood. Almuth forced out a humourless laugh.   
"Yeah. Weird." Almuth pulled Schmiddi to her feet by the arm.   
"I'm glad you're feeling better Schmiddi, I'll see you later, I need to go," Almuth spluttered all at once, barely finishing before she was halfway down the corridor.  
Bianca stumbled out of the kit room but Almuth was already long gone. She made her way back to the break room where she found Tabbi.  
"Hey Bi, you feeling better?"   
Bianca plopped down next to her best friend.  
"Yeah loads man. I think it was a guilt-headache for what I did to Babs."  
Tabbi looked sympathetically down at her friend.  
"I think you should go apologise."  
"Me too."

Bianca had been practicing her apology in her head the entire walk to the Haven. She thought about the last time she saw Babs. The migraine must have started then, that would explain why she was seeing things? Babs' eyes couldn't possibly have changed colour and shape. No, it was just the migraine fucking with her vision. Bianca pushed open the door to find Babs drying a mug with a tea-towel, talking to a large figure hunched over the counter. When Babs noticed Bianca, her eyes went wide and she placed her hand on the hand of the large figure and whispered;  
"Almuth."  
Almuth stood up and turned to face Schmiddi, genuinely surprised to see her.  
"So," Bianca said, putting her hands in her coat pockets, "Are you going to tell me the truth now?"


	4. Chapter 4

Neither Babs or Almuth spoke, or even moved. Schmiddi rocked backwards and forwards on her feet, trying to keep the anger under control until they at least had had a chance to explain.  
“Well?” she prompted, “What's the deal with you two? Because one of you says you're friends and the other swears blind you're not, even though I constantly find you hanging out together. That means at least one of you is lying about something.”  
Almuth readjusted her coat awkwardly while Babs leant forward across the counter to gently grab Almuth’s forearm.  
“Go Almi. You have things to...sort out. I'll tell her.”  
Almuth turned slightly to face Babs.  
“Are you sure?” she mumbled, although Bianca still heard.  
“She's a part of this now whether you like it or not. She should know.”  
Almuth nodded silently and made her way to the door. She stopped briefly in front of Bianca and put a hand on her shoulder, giving a warm-ish half smile. Then she disappeared out of the door. When Bianca looked over at Babs, she smiled sadly and slapped the counter in front of her.  
“Come sit down Bianca, I'll make you some coffee.”

_The Elite Shadow Guards of Command Centre Alpha don't see Panther, but they certainly feel her. The sound of metal slicing through flesh can be heard, followed by the thud of bodies hitting the floor. She stands in the middle of the slumped and lifeless bodies, the blood pooling around the soles of her thick, black boots. She sees the blood on each of the four, 6 inch, metallic claws that protrude from the knuckles of each hand, and flicks it away before the claws retract back underneath the skin. She retrieves the key card from the body of a fallen guard and wipes the blood on the thigh of her jet black catsuit. She then swipes it through the lock on the heavy double doors and the light immediately turns from red to green, and the doors swing slowly open._  
_“We're in.”_  
_From behind her approaches a very tall woman, dressed in gold battle armour reminiscent of ancient grecian warriors. She sheathes her sword and slings her circular shield onto her back, over the top of her red cape. Using both hands, she removes the large, face covering helmet and tucks it under one arm, letting her dark, curly hair spill around her shoulders. The smaller woman looks around at her friend, before removing her own mask, black as the night, covering the top half of the face and with circular, panther-esque ears on the top. She balls up the thin material and tucks it away in a pocket on her utility belt._  
_“That's a hell of a battle armour you have there Almi,”  Babett smirks, trying to hide her wonder. Almuth looks down at her._  
_“Be proud, sister. For many people, Amazon battle armour is the last thing they see.”_  
Babs scoffs.  
_“The way things are going, it may very well be the last thing I see.”_  
_Both women enter the large circular room. The outer wall is made completely of reinforced glass, meaning that they can both see out into space, more specifically, they can look out over the Earth below them. Babs jumps down the few steps and rushes over to the window, gazing in awe at the blue planet. Almuth, meanwhile, strides over to the control desk in the centre of the room and places her helmet down on it._  
_“You can see Themyscira from here,” Babs says quietly. Almuth looks up from the control panel to her friend and tentatively joins her at the window. She follows Babs’ line of sight and her breath hitches slightly in her throat._ _“You're right.” Almuth sighs deeply. A few moments of silence go by as both women look down over Almuth’s homeland. “I hope it survives.”_  
Almuth returns to the control panel, leaving Babs staring out of the window.  
_“Okay, so Oracle has reverse-engineered the bomb so that it no longer targets the human nervous system,” Almuth pinches the bridge of her nose with her thumb and pointer finger before continuing, “now it only affects inhuman nervous systems.”_  
Babs starts “Good. Just like we all agreed. Plan 0”  
_“Inhumans such as the Shadow Corp Guards as well as Wonder Woman, Superman and all non-human allies.”_ _“We all agreed this was the only way Almi.”_  
_“I know,” Almuth continues with watery eyes “and the shock wave from the energy release from the bomb will destroy approximately 2.4% of the Earth’s surface around it, including millions of innocent people who live in Western Europe as well as the human heroes who are below the Earth's crust in Shadow Corp. HQ with the bomb desperately trying to stop the Shadow Corp from detonating it, wiping out the humans and using the empty planet as a barracks to train soldiers to enslave the rest of the Galaxy.”_  
_“Almuth, we all agreed that this was the only option left if the worst was to happen. Well, the worst has happened and then some. The Justice League AND the Avengers, as well as every other superhero, anti-hero and vigilante can't stop the Shadow Corp. We have to make this sacrifice to save the rest of the galaxy.”_  
_Almuth adjusts her fingers again and again around the plunger that will detonate the bomb, destroying enemies and allies alike._  
Babs places her hand over Almuth’s on the plunger.  
_“I won't make you carry it alone,” Babs soothes, and Almuth looks over just as the tears begin to spill._  
“Almuth, Diana will forgive you. The humans will forgive you-”  
“But will I forgive me?”  
“...I'll forgive you.”  
Almuth takes a deep breath.

_“Athena have mercy.”_

Both women slowly pull down the plunger and tread silently towards the large window to watch the carnage. First, the ground cracks opens in the centre of Iceland, and a large flash of light erupts from the crack, so bright that both women flinch away and cover their eyes. The shock wave travels through space, shaking the spaceship so violently that Babs and Almuth struggle to stay on their feet. When they look back down at earth, Western Europe looks like a black crater. There are fires across the continent that can be seen even from their position in space. Babs places her hand in Almuth’s.  
“I guess we won.”  
“It's doesn't feel like it, sister.”

“I remember that. I was just a kid at the time. The government told us it was a nuclear fallout,” Bianca mumbled out, staring wide eyed past Babs and into space, trying to absorb all the information she'd just received. Babs nodded sadly and continued wiping down the counter, not so much to clean but more so she had something to keep her busy.  
“That's right. The U.N. put out a global statement telling the citizens of Earth that Shadow Corps.’ nuclear reactors had failed, causing the explosion that caused the millions of civilian deaths. Obviously the world blamed the superheroes because we were the ones who convinced them to let Shadow Corp. build below the Earth's crust and provide the entire world with renewable fuel. We didn't know they were evil at the time.”  
Bianca placed a hand on her forehead and leant on her elbow.  
“God, I haven't seen a superhero since I was 7. They used to be everywhere.”  
Babs poured more coffee into Bianca's mug.  
“By the grace of God, a handful of us survived for different reasons. But because the destruction was so bad, the world had it in for the supers. They wanted us hung, so we went into hiding, got jobs, masqueraded as humans as best we could. We don't dare let people know about us. And I opened this coffee shop as a safe space for supers and Inhumans, so we could have one place where we could be ourselves and meet others like us. Why do you think I called it ‘The Haven’?”  
Bianca gave her a smile, which Babs’ returned.  
“So you and Almuth really are old friends then?”  
Babs smile faded and she looked down at the counter.  
“I think she just keeps coming back to me because she has no one else. All we do is go for drinks now and then to toast our fallen allies. But I don't think we're friends really. I don't think she ever forgave herself for what happened and I don't think she ever forgave me for letting her do it.”  
“And I don't think the world has forgiven you yet either.”  
“True, and that's why we hide.”

Babs and Bianca spent another few moments in silence in Babs’ little coffee shop.  
“I think you should go speak to Almuth,” Babs said, finally breaking the silence.  
“I think so too,” Bianca replied, and left the shop without so much as a goodbye, or even remotely acknowledging Babs. As the door clicked shut behind Bianca, Babs gave a small sigh and returned to wiping the countertop.

Bianca pulled her coat tightly around herself as she noticed the Potsdam sun beginning to set. She didn’t realise how late it was, she must have been in The Haven with Babs for hours. She all but jumped up the flights of stairs to Almuth’s apartment and rapped hard on the door. Behind the door, Bianca could hear Almuth whispering on the phone, but she hung up before she opened up. Bianca didn't even wait for an invitation to enter, she just walked past Almuth.  
“Almuth, I have some questions for you-”  
“And I, you, Bianca,” Almuth interrupted, closing the front door before she turned to face her guest, “How do you know about The Haven? Believe me, it’s not a place you stumble upon. It’s hidden, for good reason, and people only go in if they know about it.”  
Bianca was taken aback at Almuth’s accusatory tone. She sat down on the sofa and the Amazon crossed her own apartment in a few short, slow strides and perched on the coffee table opposite Bianca, leant forward with her elbows on her knees and hands clasped together.  
“Tell me, how do you know about that place.” Almuth repeated, staring deep into Bianca with her ocean-blue eyes. Bianca was suddenly quite uncomfortable. A small gust of wind entered through the open window and blew the stray strands of hair that had fallen from each of the women’s ponytails.  
“Tabbi took me.”  
“Kemme?” Almuth replied, surprised.  
“My ears are burning.”  
Both women jumped and whipped their heads around to face Tabea, who closed the front door behind her and started sauntering across the room towards them with her hands deep in the pockets of her jacket. Almuth straightened her back but remained sitting on the coffee table, trying to hold onto her air of authority but trying not to look overly threatening.  
“What a coincidence!” Bianca laughed with a fake smile, trying to defuse the tension.  
“Tabbi, what do you know about The Haven?” Almuth asked. Tabbi stopped still in the middle of the room, hands still deep in pockets. A smirk appeared across her face as she shrugged.  
“Well, I know it’s a safe space where inhumans, aliens, people with superpowers and other miscellany can go to not be judged and/or shunned by the humans.” Almuth stared wide-eyed at Tabbi.  
“How can you possibly know that?” Almuth whispered, even though she could have had a pretty good guess already. Tabbi looked down at her feet and took a few more steps towards Almuth before she lifted her face to look at her again. The smirk remained.  
“Because I am Tabea Zor-EL, of the planet Krypton. I believe you knew my older sister, Kara?”

Almuth’s eyes filled up as she remembered Kara. She stood up and opened her arms to offer a hug to Tabbi.  
“Tabbi, I’m so sorry-”  
“Save it, Amazon,” Tabea replied, removing one hand from her pocket and held it up to stop Almuth wrapping her in a hug. Almuth awkwardly put her arms down. Bianca took this as a cue to ask some of her own questions. She leapt up from the sofa.  
“Tabbi, you must know I’m a human, why did you take me to The Haven?”  
“Because I want people to know about me, about us. I’m sick of hiding away. We’re not the bad guys, we should be able to live openly and freely as ourselves.”  
“The humans don’t want us-” Almuth tried to interject.  
“Yeah, well humans are stupid. No offence.”  
Bianca nodded in agreement, “No, it’s true.”  
Tabbi continued: “Look, the humans didn’t kick up a fuss when we were flying around saving the earth and punching meteors away. They don’t even know the whole story, somebody needs to whistleblow about what really happened with the Shadow Corp. and then we can all be free to-”  
“Enough!” Almuth barked, making both Tabbi and Bianca jump, “I am the highest ranking member of the Justice League left, and I order you, Tabea Zor-El, to keep this a secret. Now get out. Both of you!” Almuth stared with her piercing eyes as the two women gingerly left her apartment. When they’d gone, she slammed the door behind them, before resting her forehead on it and closing her eyes. 

Tabea stared out over Potsdam from her comfy chair on the balcony of her apartment on the 18th floor. Bianca broke her pensive trance by handing her a fresh mug of coffee, which Tabea accepted gratefully.  
“At least now I know why you’re so good at winning headers,” Bianca jibed as she sat in the chair opposite Tabbi’s with her own cup, “Surely being able to fly is a bit cheating?”  
“We have a literal Amazon taking up the entire net and you want to call me the cheat?” Tabbi smirked. Bianca took a sip of her own coffee.  
“Kara taught me how to fly,” Tabbi continued, looking back out over the city, blanketed in darkness by the night sky. Bianca sat in a sympathetic silence.  
“I was 12 when my pod crashed into the Earth. Kara found me, she was already an adult by the time I got here. Technically she’s 2 years older than me but, chronologically, she’d aged 14 more years by the time I reached earth. Guess my pod took the scenic route or something, I don’t know.” Bianca let out a small laugh.  
“When she’d got to earth herself, she was 14. Kal, er, Superman, our cousin, took her to live with a foster family. But she said she’d struggled growing up with her powers, alone, having no one to talk to about it. She didn’t want that for me so I lived with her. She encouraged me to embrace my powers, but she also told me to be careful. She said when I hit 18, she’d let me come super-hero-ing with her.” The tears made Tabbi’s eyes sparkle in the moonlight. She couldn’t help the smile that spread across her face as she reminisced about her sister.  
“I dreamt of putting on that red cape and wearing the emblem of the House of El across my chest. I wanted to be just like her.”  
“How old were you when... 'it' ...happened?” Bianca spoke up for the first time. Tabbi’s smile immediately faded.  
“17. Obviously.”  
“You don’t look 37 to me?” Bianca joked. Tabbi looked over and smirked back at her.  
“Its this planet’s yellow sun. It’s what gives Kryptonians their super powers. Makes us impervious to wounds and trauma...such as aging. Thankfully I wasn’t fully ‘charged’ until I hit about 21, or I might have looked 12 forever. Anyway, you want to talk about babyfaces, go ask Ms Almuth ‘Thanks to Athena I’m actually 300 years old and look 25’ Schult.”  
Bianca laughed again before deciding to move forward with a sensitive question.  
“Tabbi...if you  don’t mind me asking...how did you survive?” Tabbi sighed and took a big gulp of her coffee.  
“Kara kept the pod I arrived from Krypton in. She always told me if there was an emergency, I should hide in that. Those bastards carry us through space for light-years, they’re built to last, that explosion was nothing to it.” Bianca decided that they’ve gone so far, they might as well go the whole way.  
“And what happened to Kara?”  
The tears immediately spilled down Tabbi’s face and she closed her eyes.  
“Kara was below the Earth’s crust trying to stop the Shadow Corp. from detonating the original, human-targeted bomb. She knew before she left that she wouldn’t succeed and all that she and the others were doing was buying time for Almuth and Babett to set off the reverse engineered bomb to wipe them all out, heroes and villains alike.”  
“Why did you really take me to The Haven?”  
“It’s true what I said; I want to be me, and for inhumans and supers to be open and live freely. But really, I never knew Babett, or Almuth. Kara only ever talked about them. For the last 20 years, I’ve been looking for them, both of them. As soon as I met Almuth at a Germany training camp, I knew. I knew it was her. And I’d heard rumours that Panther had set up a little shop right here in Potsdam and I wanted to see for myself. That’s why I took you.”  
Bianca suddenly felt very uncomfortable again. She’d seen enough films to know where this was going. A woman trying to find the people responsible for her sister’s death? Doesn’t often have a happy ending. She gulped.  
“What are you going to do now you’ve found them?”  
Tabbi put her mug down on the floor beside her chair. She leant forward and rested her elbows on her knees and looked over at Bianca. She said in a low voice:  
“I’m going to get them together, and I’m going to tell them that I forgive them. And that Kara would forgive them too. And together,...we’re going to bring in a new age of super-heroes.”


	5. Chapter 5

Bianca was shaken awake. It took her a few moments to realise she was laid on Tabea’s sofa.  
“Fuck Tabbi,” she groaned, propping herself up on her elbows, “the sun isn't even up yet.”   
She looked up to see that Tabbi was tying her laces.  
“Come on, The Haven will have just opened, I've text Almuth to meet us there for breakfast.”  
“We don't even have training today, why are we meeting her at the crack of dawn?” Bianca whined, sitting herself up and she wiped the sleep from her eyes. Tabbi grabbed her own coat and chucked Bianca's at her.  
“Because I've waited 20 years to be the hero Kara taught me to be and I'm not waiting another day. I'll be downstairs when you're ready.” and with that, Tabbi left the apartment, leaving the door open behind her.  
Bianca eventually joined her 10 minutes later and Tabbi impatiently started making her way towards the Haven. Despite being the taller one, Bianca struggled to keep up with Tabbi's long strides. Tabbi pushed open the front door of the little coffee shop and the bell above the door caused Almuth and Babs to look round. Almuth gave them both a small smile from her position seated at the counter. Babs, meanwhile, dropped what she was doing and emerged from behind the counter to walk towards Tabbi. She took Tabbi's face in her hands and stroked her right thumb gently across her cheek, and took a good, long look.   
“I thought you looked familiar when you first walked in,” she whispered to Tabbi, her eyes filling with tears. Tabbi smiled kindly back at Babs, and raised her hands to give Babs’ wrists a reassuring squeeze. Babs let her hands fall from Tabbi's face and drop until her and Tabbi were holding hands, facing each other.  
“That's actually sort of what I wanted to talk to you two about,” Tabbi said, looking over at Almuth. She let Babs’ hands slip from her grasp and put them on her hips.   
“Look, what you did all those years ago, I've never met another super who wouldn't have done the same.”   
Almuth turned away as soon as Tabbi mentioned the event, but Tabbi continued anyway.  
“And Kara, she knew what you were going to do and she knew it was the right thing. She wouldn't blame you and….neither do I.”  
Babs nodded silently, looking down at the floor.  
“But at the same time, she wouldn't want us to hide away either. She'd want us to be out there being heroes.” Tabbi walked over to Almuth and placed a hand on her shoulder, but Almuth still didn't turn back to face her.  
“Twenty years is long enough. The world needs superheroes”   
“Bullshit,” Almuth spat, as she got to her feet and threw Tabbi's hand from her shoulder, “the humans don't want us anymore. We're better off staying hidden and just getting on with it.”  
“Almuth, there's awful things going on out there and God knows the humans can't deal with them,” Tabbi replied forcefully to Almuth's back, and she finally turned around.  
“Tabea, you're too young to remember, but there was suggestion of banishment after what happened...happened. The world no longer wants us. End of story,” Almuth said calmly, but her eyes betrayed the pain behind her words.  
“They might not want us but they sure as hell need us. I'm doing this with or without you. Both of you,” Tabea said forcefully, turning to Babs as well, before she stormed out and slammed the door behind her. There was a moment of silence as everyone took in what had happened. Before anyone coukd speak, however, Almuth let out an almighty roar. She slammed her left fist down on the nearby table, before sweeping the condiments, menus and cutlery onto the floor and she threw the table across the diner as if it weighed no more than a piece of paper.   
“I won't let her ruin this! She's a child, she doesn't know! She'll kill us all!” Almuth roared again, before storming past Schmiddi and out into Potsdam, almost ripping the door from its hinges in the process. A shell-shocked Bianca, a virtual spectator to the entire conversation, silently picked up the table with a puff of effort and replaced it in its original spot. She picked up the cutlery and menus and haphazardly placed them back on the table. She then took up Almuth’s seat on the counter.  
“What do you think Babs?”   
Babs seemed slightly surprised at the question.   
“I think they both have good points. I think the world is ready for heroes again but I don't think it's going to be as easy as Tabea thinks. We'll need to prove we're trustworthy again, just like when Kal El first came to Earth, or when Diana first arrived from Themyscira.”   
Bianca nodded thoughtfully.  
“I'm sorry I've been a bit of a dick,” Bianca said sheepishly, looking up at Babs. Babs placed her hand over Bianca's on the counter.  
“It's alright. I'm sorry I haven't always been truthful to you.”  
Bianca smiled up and placed her free hand over Babs’, creating a sort of sandwich.  
“Do you want to have dinner tonight?” Bianca asked, which made Babs smile back down at her.  
“Sounds good.”

_Babs strains desperately against the restraints as the metallic grey liquid pours down the I.V. line and into her veins. It burns as soon as it enters her cardiovascular system and she lets out a guttural scream. The medical team watch from behind the glass as she screams and thrashes in vain, but is still held in place by the thick leather straps around her wrists, ankles and two over her chest and thighs._  
A short nurse with blonde hair in a messy bun monitors Babs’ vital signs on a small screen, trying to block out Babs’ cries. Eventually, the screaming gets too much and the nurse marches up to the head doctor who is watching Babs’ intently through the glass.  
“Doctor Jacobs, the patient is in considerable pain-”  
“Well of course she is,” the tall doctor replies, not breaking his gaze, “We’re injecting molten metal into her body. Don’t worry, eventually it’ll find it’s way to her bones and coat them. Her skeleton will be almost indestructible.”  
“Doctor please, she didn’t ask for this.”  
“No, but she asked me for a way to stop the bullies, the stares, the horrible comments. And I’m giving her one. She’ll be able to stop them herself.”  
The last of the liquid has entered Babs’ body and she lays panting on the table, exhausted and sobbing. She tries again in vain to free her arms but she does not succeed. She is unaware of the medical team watching her intently. The nurse pipes up again.  
“And what exactly are the ethics of trialing an experimental procedure on a human patient who is clearly not consenting,” she snipes in a furious whisper.   
“She can sue me,” the Doctor says, taking off his glasses and wiping them on his lab-coat, “if she survives.”  
He opens the door into Babs’ room, making her jump. The rest of the medical staff follow him obediently, if a little out of fear. He takes up position by Babs’ head and starts stroking her hair. She strains once more against her bonds but quickly realises that she has no option but to lie there and let him be creepy.  
“Now Ms. Peter, there is one last thing to do before you’re finished.”  
Out of his pocket he brings a large syringe filled with a bright yellow liquid. Babs’ eyes immediately go wide and she starts begging and pleading no. The Doctor instructs another to place his hand over her mouth and keep her head still.  
“You haven’t heard what it does yet, my dear.”  
Babs’ tears fall down her face and onto the hands of the doctor restraining her head. The tall doctor continues:  
“This is an enzyme that will alter your DNA so that it more closely resembles that of the Felis Genus, more specifically, the Species Panthera, where we got this enzyme in the first place. You’ll be more agile, stronger, quicker. An all-round improvement on your human physiology.”  
Babs strains to get away once more as the Doctor leans forward over her, but it's no use. Doctor Jacobs plunges the cold metal into her neck and presses down on the plunger. As soon as her removes it, the other staff, including the doctor holding her head, take a step back, not knowing what to expect. At first, Babs lays still panting. Then, her vision goes blurry and all her muscles contract at once. She squeezes her eyes shut as she lets out a primal roar. When she opens them again, they’re bright yellow, with a black, vertical slit for a pupil. Barely visible in her foaming mouth are lengthened canine teeth. Babs immediately makes light work of the leather restraints, freeing herself. She gets out of bed and stands, hunched over, staring at the group of her captors who are looking at her in disbelief. She slowly brings her hands up in front of her face and makes two fists. Slowly, four dangerously sharp, shiny, metallic claws emerge from each knuckle on each hand. Babs chokes out what can only be described as a laugh before looking back up at the medical team. She pounces forward and slices up every last one of them. 

Babett awoke with a start and sat bolt upright, almost making Bianca jump out of bed. Bianca sat up to join Babs and wrapped her arms around her waist.  
“Babs, what’s wrong?”  
Babs let out a small laugh. With one, she rubbed Bianca’s arm around her waist and with the other, she rubbed her eyes.  
“Nothing, just- reliving some stuff.”  
Bianca placed a small kiss on Babs’ shoulder before whispering into her neck:  
“Come on, lay back down with me,” and Babs allowed herself to be dragged back down into a lying position in the comfort of Bianca’s arms. Bianca fell back to sleep almost as soon as she hit the pillow but Babs stayed awake a little while longer. She smirked softly to herself when she realised that, in their haste to get to bed, she and Bianca forgot to close the curtains. Babs stared out of the window, gazing at the moonlight coating the Potsdam skyline, wondering if there really was a place for monsters like her in this modern world.

Babs had already left for work before Bianca awoke. She noticed on the bedside table that there was a key on top of a note that said:  
This is my spare, make sure you lock the door after you!  
Bianca smiled to herself when she realised that now she had an excuse to see Babs that night as well.


	6. Chapter 6

Babs was absent-mindedly wiping down the counter in her coffee shop when Almuth came bursting in, face like thunder. Thankfully the shop was in the natural lull between rush hour and lunchtime, so there were no customers for the Amazon to startle. “I'm going to start sending you a bill for my doors,” Babs sighed, gazing at yet another dent in the wood, created by the force of Almuth’s giant hand.  
“Have you seen the fucking news Babs?” Almuth spat, swiping the remote from behind the counter and pointing it at the small, portable tv that Babs kept behind the counter for when she had no customers. The screen instantly flicked to the news channel, where the host was solemnly reporting on an incident.  
‘...evacuated from downtown Potsdam, where a 7 foot humanoid lizard creature is rampaging. Sources say that superheroes are on the scene, the likes of which have not been seen since the 90s-’  
The image turned from the host to amateur footage of what was indeed a 7 foot humanoid lizard swiping at a red and blue blur, which Babs instantly recognised as Supergirl. "Tabea?"  
The second person involved was not a superhero, and it made Babs’ blood run cold as the lizard turned it's attention from Tabbi to the person frantically scrambling away on all fours.  
“Fuck sake Bianca!” Babs hissed, hastily untying her apron.   
“Babs, don't go,” Almuth barked, tearing her glare from the screen, “if Tabea gets her arse kicked, she might realise she isn't cut out for this and stop with all this superhero shit.”  
But Babs had already balled up her apron, chucked it behind her and was holding the door open.  
“I'm not letting a giant lizard rip my girlfriend in half. I'll sort this out, I promise, don't let my cheesecake burn!” she called behind her, leaving Almuth pinching the bridge of her nose in annoyance.

Bianca screamed as the post box she was hiding behind was swatted away like a ball of paper, but before the monster could strike her, Tabbi swooped down and sent the creature flying 50 feet across the street into the side of a building, causing a large area of bricks to crack and crumble.  
“This is another fine mess you've got me into,” Bianca grumbled, glaring around at her friend hovering just above the ground.  
“You can at least pretend you aren't enjoying this,” she yelled to Tabbi, which earned her a wink before she flew towards the lizard monster. Tabbi masterfully dodged a few clumsy swipes, before getting too cocky, and she was batted into the side of an armoured bank truck, causing the steel to rupture and curl around her. Seeing her momentarily incapacitated, the lizard turned its attention back to Bianca and lumbered over towards her. Bianca was so startled she stumbled backwards on her arse and the giant creature loomed over her. The lizard raised its giant paw to strike and Schmiddi shut her eyes and cowered. But the blow she was expecting never came. Instead, when she opened her eyes, she saw a figure stood over her in all black, 4 long claws protruding from each knuckle, crisscrossed above the head of the figure, having caught the blow in mid-air. The figure pushed the fist away, and the lizard had to take a few steps back to steady itself. When it realised who it was, it's eyes widened and it grew a wicked grin.  
“Panther!” the lizard whooped, “they've been looking for you for so long! And if I'm the one to bring them to you, imagine the reward!”   
“The only reward you're getting is my claws in your face,” Babs replied, and lunged forward, tearing flesh from the lizard with each punch. The beast cried out in pain. It suddenly regained its competency, and managed to block one of Babs’ punches, giving it a window to land a blow in Babs’ stomach. Babs then ducked another blow, and then another.  
“Jesus, Tabbi, get it together!” Babs yelled, “you want to be a superhero, fucking get over here!”   
Tabbi immediately rouses and sat up in the wreckage of the destroyed truck, rubbing her head groggily. She saw the monster giving Babs a run for her money and immediately sprang back into action. She flew 10 feet into the air and ripped a lamppost from the concrete sidewalk. In the blink of an eye, she was behind the monster and effortlessly wrapped the steel around the beast, restraining it and leaving it laid helpless on the floor. Babs leant over, hands on knees, and breathed deeply.  
“I'm too old for this shit.”  
Tabbi immediately appeared at her side, bouncing like an overexcited puppy.  
“Dude that was SO COOL, we TOTALLY kicked that lizard’s arse.”  
Bianca emerged from her hiding place behind a parked car and Tabbi's high five nearly sends her hurtling across the street. Tabbi shot her an apologetic look and, more gently this time, pats Babs’ back as the older woman continued heaving.  
“Thanks.”  
“Don't mention it,” Babs replied breathlessly, the ears on her mask flapping up and down with each shuddering breath.  
“So...who’s ‘they’?” Schmiddi asked. Babs stood back up straight, having regained her normal heart rhythm.   
“Who's who?” she replied.  
“The lizard said ‘they’ had been looking for you. Who's ‘they’?”  
“I don't know and I don't really care to find out.” The sound of sirens startled Babs and she looked frantically behind her.  
“Come on, let's get out of here.”

Tabbi was still walking on air -literally and figuratively- when the three returned to Babs’ shop.  
“Oh look, it's the fucking Avengers,” Almuth snarled from behind a table. She was mindlessly playing with a fork, her large hands bending the steel as if it was paper.  
“Hey, lizard-face started it!” Tabbi replied, descending to the floor, her smile replaced with a glare.   
“You just can't let things lie can you? The police would have taken him down and given out a press release saying it was some stupid prick in a costume playing a prank, but no, you just have to let everyone know that supers are still here. You're going to start a fucking witch hunt.” Almuth's voice was quiet but the trio couldn't mistake the pure rage threatening to break through her stony glare. Babs couldn't remember the last time she saw Almuth so furious. She reached slowly out, grasped Bianca's sleeve and gently pulled her behind her whilst Almuth's attention was turned to Tabbi. Tabbi took the bait and stepped forward aggressively, pointing a finger at Almuth.  
“That guy was causing trouble and we stopped him! We're heroes! We got the job done and the public will thank us, which will make you wrong. Wrong about everything! I'm sick of you trying to stifle us. You're past it Amazon, an actual hero would recognise the good we did today. You're not a hero.”  
This obviously struck a nerve as Almuth roared, got to her feet and, for the hundredth time, batted a table effortlessly across Babs’ shop, causing the table legs to break off as it hit the wall. She stormed to the door, making Tabbi leap out of her way. Babs stepped back into Bianca, forcing her to move out of Almuth's way. The door slammed behind the Amazon with a mighty crash and it fell backwards off its hinges flat onto the floor.  
“Now you know why my business insurance is so high,” Babs sighed.

_Themyscira, 1912_  
“I don't know what you're doing here, runt. Not unless Queen Hippolyta wants a guard to patrol the royal mouse holes,” Donna Troy smirks.  
“Fuck you,” Almuth spits, “I'm going to become a guard and I'm going to kick your arse in the process, two birds, one stone.”  
“I'll make sure you get the kiddie’s sword so you don't hurt yourself.”  
Before Almuth can provide a witty retort, Commander Phillipus appears in full armour, helmet tucked under her arm, spear in the other. She addresses the group of Amazons:  
“Sisters, today only one of you can become a Guard of Themyscira. The one who shows they have the qualities of a good protector: strength, courage and intelligence in battle. Therefore, you will be pitted against each other until one of you remains standing. Choose your weapon and enter the ring. Athena be with you all.” 

_The crowd roars as Almuth sends Artemis packing, the redhead limping away as Almuth watches. There now remains Almuth and one other Amazon; Donna Bloody Troy. Almuth turns to face her final challenger. Donna is raring to fight, she steps closer towards Almuth, raising her heavy club above one shoulder, ready to strike. Almuth rearranges her grip on her sword and shield, preparing for Donna to make the first move. She doesn't wait long before Donna swings the club down and Almuth hurriedly raises her shield. The club makes contact with the shield and the shock waves send pain shooting down Almuth's arm. Almuth has no time to counter strike as Donna brings the club down vertically again, striking the shield Almuth holds above her head. Donna's superior height gives extra power to the blows, and they come again and again, each time sending shock waves down Almuth's arm, eventually, Almuth drops her sword altogether, holding her shield with two hands, hoping to withstand the fierce and unrelenting battering from Donna's club. After the tenth blow, Donna changes tactic, catching Almuth off guard. She starts swinging from left to right, the first blow knocking the shield clean from Almuth's hands and the second making contact with Almuth's temple. A loud crack silences the crowd. Almuth's vision goes blurred and her ears start ringing. She sinks of her knees and then falls face down on the dirt. Vision fading in and out of the blackness, she uses her last ounce of strength to turn her face to the side, to watch Donna approach her._  
“Don't be a hero Almuth, accept defeat,” Donna tells her. Yet again, she lifts her club above her head with both hands, ready to end it, before Almuth feels a presence stood over her.  
“Stop this at once!” the figure over Almuth demands. Donna immediately drops to her knees in a bow.  
“Princess Diana!” Donna exclaims.  
“The fight is over. You know better than to batter a sister to death.”   
Almuth does not catch the rest of the conversation as she sinks gently into unconsciousness. 

_Themyscira, 3 hours later_  
She awakes again in her bedroom. The cold water being pressed against her head rouses her possibly prematurely, but she's awake.  
“Princess!” Almuth exclaims, trying to sit up.  
“Rest sister,” Diana, daughter of Queen Hippolyta, Champion of Themyscira, the Wonder Woman elect, instructs her and Almuth settles back down.  
“I suppose Donna is the new guard?” Almuth mutters.  
Diana smiles and removes the cloth soothing Almuth's temple and soaks it in a bowl of water on her lap.  
“Rules are rules, sister.”  
Almuth huffs at Diana's words.  
“Wow, I can't wait until ALL the guards are making short jokes,” Almuth sneers. Diana smiles kindly in return.  
“Sister, you are big in heart, and that is more important than being big in stature.” 

_Themyscira, 5 years after the departure of Wonder Woman_  
Almuth fumbles nervously with her hands as she waits outside the palace doors. She hears the clinking of armour getting louder, indicating an approaching guard. None other than Donna Troy appears in the doorway.  
“Queen Hippolyta will see you now,” she tells Almuth coldly, stepping to the side to allow Almuth entry. Almuth can feel the smugness emitting from Donna as she passes but tries her best to seem indifferent.  
Hippolyta is sat upon her throne in the ornate palace, flanked by two standing guards. Almuth approaches and kneels before her, head bowed.  
“What do you need, sister?” Hippolyta questions.  
“I would like permission to go Man's World, to join your daughter as an ambassador of peace.”  
If Almuth didn't know better, she could swear she saw a hint of shock on the Queen's face, but Hippolyta masterfully maintains her composure.  
“Why would you want to leave paradise?” Hippolyta asks calmly.  
“There is nothing for me here, my Queen.”  
“Sister, you do know the price the Amazons pay for leaving Themyscira?”  
Almuth takes a deep breath and gulps. From her kneeling position, she lifts her head to look at the Queen.  
“Yes your highness, any Amazon that leaves Themyscira is not permitted to return.”  
Hippolyta stands from her throne.  
“This is your choice to make, sister. Athena watch over you.”   
Hippolyta descends the few steps, lifts Almuth from her kneeling position and pulls her into a deep and comforting hug.  
“Tell my daughter I love her.” 


	7. Chapter 7

Tabbi used her heat vision to weld the door back onto the hinges whilst Bianca swept the wood chips from the smashed table onto the dustpan Babs was holding. After Babs deposited the bits into the bin, she joined Bianca and Tabbi at one of the diner’s tables.  
“So there's definitely someone after us,” she said to Tabbi.  
“Looks like it. I mean they reached out to you to didn't they Schmiddi?”  
Bianca nodded in reply.  
“Did they tell you who they were?” Babs questioned.  
“No, they just tried to fry my brain out of my skull.”  
Tabbi huffed and dropped her head to the table.  
“So we don't even have any way of knowing who this is, let alone finding them?”  
“I'm not so sure. Someone powerful enough to enter people's minds, who can also reach out to other nonhumans and also has it in for Almuth and I? Reeks of the Shadow Corp.”  
Tabbi immediately raised her head from the table.  
“But I thought you and Almuth wiped them all out?”  
“Me too.”  
The three sat in solemn silence as they tried to wrap their heads around the idea that the company who were almost responsible for the death of the entire planet potentially had survived the massacre. Eventually Babs slapped her hand down the table.  
“There's no point sitting here, we need to take action. I know who can help us out.”

The trio entered the bar, pressed together awkwardly for safety. Beings of all colours, sizes and head circumferences were playing darts, shooting pool or grouped anywhere they could find to sit down and drink. Bianca instantly realised they were somewhere designed to be safe for nonhumans to hang out without having to disguise themselves.   
“I'm getting syphilis just looking at this place,” Tabbi grumbled, not in the best of moods anyway since Babs made her change out of her supersuit in the name of ‘keeping a low profile’. Babs was also in her civvies. She rolled her eyes at Tabbi's comment and wordlessly made her way towards the grubby bar situated at the other end of the building. Tabbi and Bianca followed closely, as startled ducklings do to their mother.  
Behind the bar was a shortish woman in an old plaid shirt with her long blonde-brown hair tied in a high, messy bun. She had her back to the three of them, but turned slightly to face her new customers, revealing a heavily tattooed arm grasping a pint glass, which she was drying with a towel. Now stood side on, the woman's eyes sparkled when she recognised Babs and a small smirk crept across her face. Babs returned the smile, but before either can say anything, Bianca blurted out:  
“Ohmygodyou’reCatwoman.”  
The bartender turned her attention to Bianca.  
“Always nice to meet a fan. I'm afraid I was forced to retire though, thanks to your friend here,” the woman replied coyly, gesturing towards Babs with a flick of her head. She turned her body fully to face the three of them head on, revealing a robotic prosthesis protruding from the elbow of her other arm. She placed the glass and towel down and put both of her hands on the bar in front of her, the fake arm fluidly and perfectly copying the movements of its flesh counterpart. The metallic arm moved with such ease and precision, that if the woman were wearing long sleeves, it would have been impossible to tell it wasn't real at all. Bianca wondered where she got it as it was vastly superior to any prosthesis available at the hospitals in Germany.  
“Anja, you were lucky-”  
“Bullshit,” the bartender replied, “if I was lucky I'd be flipping you off with my real hand.” Anja raised the middle finger of her prosthesis at Babs. Babs pulled her coat tightly around herself and folded her arms.  
“Nice to see you've matured in the twenty years since we last met.”  
“What do you want, puss?” Anja said bluntly, grabbing the towel and reaching for a new glass to wipe.  
“I think the Shadow Corp. might still be around. I want to know if you've seen or heard anything?”  
Anja stopped dead and looked Babs dead in the eye.  
“The Shadow Corp? The Fucking Shadow Corp? You mean you detonated a bomb that caused a genocide of your own people and you didn't even defeat the people you were fighting?” Anja let out a cruel laugh.  
“Wow Babett I mean you were never anybody’s first choice hero anyway but how do you fuck up a giant bomb?” Anja continued cackling, making Babs’ hands curl into fists. Tabbi and Bianca could hear a low growl originating in the base of her throat, not dissimilar to a real panther. Anja continued taunting her:   
“Where is the Amazon anyway? Could she not figure out how my tiny doors worked? Fuck, you two were like Laurel and Hardy at the best of times-”  
In the blink of an eye, Babs leant across the bar, one hand steadying herself and the other one curled around Anja's throat, forcing her to stand on her tip toes. The pint glass smashed on the floor as Anja immediately spluttered and wrapped her hands around Babs’ wrist, trying to pry it off. Anja couldn't tear her eyes away from Babs’ which had turned bright yellow.  
“You're going to tell me everything you know,” Babs growled, “or I will rip your other hand off.”  
“Oh God please, I don't know anything, please, I know nothing, if anyone knows anything it'll be Police Commissioner Kane, please God don't hurt me,” Anja babbled, and Babs immediately released her grip. Anja doubled in two, catching her breath back. She stood back up straight, still rubbing her throat.  
“Get the fuck out of my bar,” she spat.  
“Gladly,” replied Babs, whose pupils had returned to normal. She marched away, followed closely by Tabbi and Bianca, who had been too afraid thus far to involve themselves in conflict between the two women.

Babs, Bianca and Tabbi sat silently in the waiting room, Babs still trying to play off the fact that she was angry by picking lint off her coat and Tabbi and Bianca were awkwardly trying to approach the subject of ‘what the hell happened with Catwoman back there?’   
Before either could find the courage to speak, a young man in a suit approached them nervously.  
“The Commissioner will see you now.”  
Babs immediately strode into the large office, leaving Bianca and Tabbi to trail behind her again. Inside the office was a smartly dressed woman with long, dark brown hair. In one arm, she had a pile of files and she used the other one to place them into a tall filing cabinet. She didn't look up as the three entered the room.  
“Commissioner Kane?” Babs asked, trying to draw her attention. She still didn't look up from her filing.  
“It's Sawyer actually. Maggie Sawyer. I'd think you'd recall my widowing, considering it was your fault,” Maggie finally looked up to glare at Babs, before moving behind her large desk and putting down the files she still had left.  
“I'm sorry about Kate-”  
“It's been twenty years, save it,” Maggie replied coldly, finally sitting down behind the desk, “What do you want?”  
Babs took a deep breath, and Tabbi and Bianca stayed quiet, knowing once again, this was a situation that Babs with her experience should handle.   
“I think the Shadow Corp. are trying to make a comeback. Someone somewhere survived somehow and is trying to rebuild the organisation.”  
Maggie didn't even bat an eyelid, her reaction the exact opposite of Anja’s.  
“I've been having my suspicions too.”   
She leant down behind her desk, opened a drawer and pulled out a red file marked ‘CONFIDENTIAL’.  
“There's been several incidents, random to everyone else in this building, none of whom know what really happened two decades ago, but to me, theres too many similarities between these incidents and what happened last time for it to be coincidence.”  
Maggie flicked the pages of the document. She hesitated for a moment, looking deep in thought, and then chucked the whole file to the other end of the desk, a sign for Babs to take it. Babs looked stunned.  
“R-really?” she stammered, losing her composure slightly. Maggie shrugged back at her.  
“I can't send any of my jackasses, they wouldn't know what they were doing. As it much as it pains me to say it Babett, you are the most qualified person I know for this investigation.”  
Babs nodded determinedly and took the file from the desk.   
“Thank you Commissioner Sawyer.”   
Babs moved to leave with Bianca and Tabbi yet again following. As she grasped the door handle, back turned, Maggie spoke again.  
“It should've been Kate up there safe on that ship, not you.”  
Babs hesitated again, and gave a small nod. She turned the door handle and stepped through, back into the waiting room. Bianca slid through and Tabbi clicked the office door shut after her. Babs let out a long sigh and tipped her head back so she was looking at the ceiling. In one hand she was holding the document that details suspicious events and with the other she dragged it down her face and throat. Tabbi patted her on the back.  
“C’mon, I think we could all do with a drink after today.”  
Babs looked at her silently, giving her a half smile.  
“Sounds good, where do you want to go?” Bianca asked.  
“Anywhere but Anja’s.”

The three had sat down in the nearest pub they could find, and after an hour and a few drinks, Babs seemed slightly better.  
“Don't you ever get tired of people blaming you?” Tabbi asked Babs. Babs shrugged.  
“I knew what it would be like, it was my choice. I've made my bed, I should lie in it.”   
Bianca and Tabbi took sips of their drinks and Babs started again:  
“I wasn't a very good hero. Hell, when I started out, I probably made more messes than I cleaned up. When the time came to decide who would press that button, I didn't hesitate. I knew it would be hard, but I didn't want Wonder Woman or Superman or someone who was actually a good hero to be...I don't know…’tainted’ with that I guess. And by ‘hard’ I mean morally, y’know like the actual operation to go and detonate the bomb was almost un-fuck-up-able, that's why they let me and Almuth go in the first place.”   
Tabbi gave a sad smile.  
“What was Almuth like as a hero?” she asked gently, with a hint of admiration in her voice. Babs chuckled softly.  
“It's not that Almuth wasn't good it's just...she was too enthusiastic. She always wanted to impress Diana so she went gung-ho into everything, which meant she often overlooked things or she didn't concentrate properly. Eventually Aquaman rang me to ask if I could pick her up from the Sea-Life centre where she was convinced King Shark was hiding and then asked if I could ‘take her under my wing’. It was like having a massive puppy I swear.”  
Tabbi giggled, “You can't have been that bad then, if you got asked to mentor other heroes?”  
Babs smiled again, a genuine smile this time.  
“I was decent. Eventually. After a while I stopped making messes and eventually started sorting stuff out by myself. Don't get me wrong, if there was a nuke flying about you'd call somebody else but if you couldn't get a hold of the Justice League, the X Men, Captain Marvel, the Teen Titans, the Avengers, the Young Avengers or the Birds of Prey then you'd seriously consider giving me a ring,” Babs said with mock pride, making Tabbi and Bianca laugh. Babs looked down into her drink.  
“I didn't want Almuth to come with me to do it. I begged Diana not to send her with me to detonate the bomb, but she said Almuth would be safe there. She couldn't bear to see Almuth killed, she had a soft spot the little Amazon. And who am I to argue with Wonder Woman?” she laughed sadly.  
“Come on,” she continued, “it's been a long day, we need to get some sleep and then we can get cracking on this case tomorrow.”


End file.
